Terminal connection structure

Abstract

To provide a terminal connection structure that can ensure the holding force for holding a male connector while reducing the insertion force required to insert the male connector into the accommodation space for a female connector.SOLUTION: A terminal connection structure 1 includes: a female connector 21 having an accommodation space HS; and a male connector 11 which is inserted into the accommodation space to a mating completion position and electrically connected to the female connector. The female connector has an inner wall surface 21c, an elastic member 30 which presses the male connector by a contact portion, a rear side protrusion 24, and an entrance side protrusion 25. The outer wall surface of the male connector has a recess 13 formed in a portion which faces the entrance side protrusion when the male connector is inserted into the accommodation space. The surface of the recess is provided with a lubricating layer 50 which contains carbon atoms which form bonds through sp2 hybrid orbitals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6C

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal connection structure. [Background technology]

[0002] A connection terminal is known that includes a female connector, a male connector that is inserted into and electrically connected to a storage space of the female connector, and an elastic member that biases the male connector toward a protrusion formed on an inner wall surface of the female connector in the storage space. In such a connection terminal, a holding force for holding the male connector in the storage space is ensured by the protrusion and the elastic member.

[0003] For example, the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a male terminal, a female terminal having a tubular portion into which the male terminal is inserted, and an elastic member incorporated inside the tubular portion of the female terminal, and the inner wall of the tubular portion of the female terminal is formed with a plurality of protrusions protruding inward. The connector is characterized in that the elastic member biases the male terminal inserted into the tubular portion toward the plurality of protrusions. It is said that the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 can suppress the relative movement of the male terminal with respect to the female terminal caused by vibrations applied to the connector. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-119292 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in Patent Document 1, the pressure between the protrusion of the female connector and the male connector increases, which increases the frictional force and the insertion force, which is a problem. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the insertion force required to insert the male connector into the accommodation space of the female connector while ensuring the holding force for holding the male connector in the connection terminal.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems inherent in the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal connection structure that can reduce the insertion force required to insert a male connector into the accommodation space of a female connector while ensuring a retaining force for retaining the male connector. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A terminal connection structure according to an aspect of the present invention includes a tubular female connector having an accommodating space extending in an axial direction, and a male connector that is axially inserted into the accommodating space to a mating completion position and is electrically connected to the female connector. The female connector has an inner wall surface surrounding the accommodating space, a contact portion supported by the inner wall surface and in contact with an outer wall surface of the male connector, an elastic member that presses the male connector with the contact portion, a rear-side protrusion protruding from a position on the inner wall surface that is further rearward in the insertion direction than the contact portion, and a protrusion on the inner wall surface that is in contact with the male connector. and an entrance-side protrusion protruding from a position on the entrance side in the insertion direction further than the contact portion in the mating completion position, the rear-side protrusion and the entrance-side protrusion support the outer wall surface of the male connector in the mating completion position against the pressing force of the elastic member, the outer wall surface of the male connector has a recess formed in a portion that faces the entrance-side protrusion when the male connector is inserted into the accommodation space, the recess is formed along the insertion direction, on the outer wall surface of the male connector in the mating completion position, further rearward in the insertion direction than the position that faces the entrance-side protrusion, and the surface of the recess has sp 2 The lubricating layer includes carbon atoms that form hybrid orbital bonds. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a terminal connection structure can be provided that can ensure the holding force for holding a male connector while keeping the insertion force required when inserting a male connector into the accommodating space of a female connector low. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a terminal connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2]1 is a perspective view showing a terminal connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a female terminal of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the female terminal of the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a male terminal of the present embodiment. [Figure 6A] 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing the process of inserting a male connector into an accommodating space in this embodiment. [Figure 6B] 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing the process of inserting a male connector into an accommodating space in this embodiment. [Figure 6C] 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views showing the process of inserting a male connector into an accommodating space in this embodiment. [Figure 7A] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged portion of a recess of a male connector in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7B] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged portion of a recess of a male connector in the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 1 shows the results of evaluating the frictional force of a test sample provided with a lubricating layer according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a terminal connection structure according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, a terminal connection structure 1 of the present embodiment includes a male terminal 10, a female terminal 20, and an elastic member 30. As shown in FIG.

[0012] The male terminal 10 is made of a conductive metal material. The male terminal 10 has a male connector 11, a terminal connector 12, and a fixing portion 15.

[0013] In the male terminal 10, the male connector 11 is a portion that is inserted into a receiving space HS of the female terminal 20, which will be described later, and is electrically connected to the female terminal 20. The male connector 11 is formed, for example, in a columnar shape. In the embodiment, the male connector 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape. In the embodiment, the axial direction of the male connector 11 is the insertion / removal direction with respect to the female terminal 20. In the specification, the direction along the insertion / removal direction in which the male connector 11 is inserted into the receiving space HS of the female terminal 20 is referred to as the insertion direction, and the direction in which the male connector 11 is removed from the female terminal 20 is referred to as the removal direction.

[0014] The terminal connection body 12 is formed in a flat plate shape. The terminal connection body 12 has an insertion hole 12a into which, for example, a terminal screw or the like is inserted. The insertion hole 12a is formed near the center of the flat terminal connection body 12.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 6A, the male connector 11 is formed by covering the insulating portion 10a extending in the axial direction with a conductive tubular member 10b. The male connector 11 has a tip portion 14 at the front end (the rear side in the insertion direction). The tip portion 14 is formed of a portion of the insulating portion 10a exposed from the end of the front end side of the tubular member 10b. The tip portion 14 is formed in a tapered shape, and is formed so that the diameter increases from the front end side toward the rear end side (the entrance side in the insertion direction). In the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11, the tubular member 10b forms an outer wall surface that is electrically connected to the female connector 21. In the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11, the outer wall surface on the rear end side of the tip portion 14 is formed to be flush with the outer wall surface of the tubular member 10b. The terminal connector 12 protrudes in the axial direction from one end of the tubular member.

[0016] The fixing part 15 is disposed between the male connector 11 and the terminal connector 12. The fixing part 15 has insulating properties and is provided so as to cover the tubular member 10b near the base end of the terminal connector 12. Here, a hole 10c is formed in the part of the tubular member 10b covered by the fixing part 15, and the fixing part 15 is integrated with the insulating part 10a of the male connector 11 via the hole 10c, as shown in Fig. 6A. With this configuration, the fixing part 15 restricts deviation of the relative position of the tubular member 10b with respect to the insulating part 10a.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 20 has a female connector 21, an electric wire connector 22, and a connector 23. The female connector 21 is formed in a tubular shape. In the embodiment, the female connector 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The female connector 21 has a housing space HS surrounded by an inner wall surface 21c of the female connector 21. The housing space HS extends along the axial direction of the female connector 21. The housing space HS is formed in a shape (e.g., a tubular shape) corresponding to the outer shape of the male connector 11. In the embodiment, the housing space HS is formed in a cylindrical shape. Both ends in the axial direction of the female connector 21 are open, and the housing space HS communicates with the external space. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the opening at one end (hereinafter referred to as a first opening 21a) is used as an entrance into which the male connector 11 is inserted. As shown in FIG. 2, the male connector 11 inserted from the first opening 21a protrudes from the opening at the other end (hereinafter referred to as the second opening 21b).

[0018] The electric wire connector 22 is a part to which a conductive part (not shown) of an electric wire is electrically connected. The electric wire connector 22 is electrically connected to the conductive part of the electric wire by crimping such as swaging. The electric wire connector 22 has a pair of barrel pieces 22a, 22b facing each other. Each barrel piece 22a, 22b is wrapped around the conductive part (core wire) of the electric wire and crimped, so that the electric wire connector 22 and the conductive part of the electric wire are electrically connected. The electric wire connector 22 may be a part that is electrically connected to the conductive part of the electric wire by, for example, welding or soldering. The connector 23 is disposed between the female connector 21 and the electric wire connector 22. The connector 23 connects the female connector 21 and the electric wire connector 22. The female terminal 20 is formed of a conductive metal material.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the female terminal 20 has a back side protrusion 24 and an entrance side protrusion 25. The back side protrusion 24 and the entrance side protrusion 25 protrude from the inner wall surface 21c of the female connector 21 in the accommodation space HS. The back side protrusion 24 and the entrance side protrusion 25 are members that hold the male connector 11 inserted into the accommodation space HS to the mating completion position together with an elastic member 30 described later. As shown in FIG. 4, the back side protrusion 24 and the entrance side protrusion 25 are arranged in one region R1 when the female connector 21 is divided into two regions R1 and R2 along the insertion / removal direction. Here, the regions R1 and R2 are divided so as to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the female connector 21. In other words, the regions R1 and R2 are regions obtained by dividing the female connector in half along the insertion / removal direction.

[0020] Two rear projections 24 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner wall surface 21c near the end of the second opening 21b side of the female connector 21. Two entrance projections 25 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner wall surface 21c near the end of the first opening 21a side (entrance side) of the female connector 21. The rear projections 24 and the entrance projections 25 are arranged in two regions R11 and R12 obtained by further dividing the above-mentioned divided region R1 into two regions along the insertion / removal direction. The regions R11 and R12 are divided regions obtained by dividing the region R1 into two equal parts along the insertion / removal direction. When the female connector 21 is viewed from the first opening 21a side, the rear projections 24 and the entrance projections 25 are arranged so as to overlap each other in the insertion / removal direction.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, the elastic member 30 is inserted into the housing space HS from the first opening 21a. The elastic member 30 is conductive and elastic. As shown in FIG. 4, the elastic member 30 is disposed in the other region R2 when the female connector 21 is divided into two regions R1 and R2 along the insertion / removal direction. The elastic member 30 has a male contact body 33 and two female contact bodies 34. The female contact body 34 is formed in an arc shape so as to follow the inner wall surface 21c of the female connector 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the two female contact bodies 34 are disposed opposite to each other in the insertion / removal direction. The male contact body 33 is a leaf spring-like member extending in the insertion / removal direction. The male contact body 33 is disposed between the two female contact bodies 34, and the ends of the male contact body 33 are connected to the female contact bodies 34. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of male contact bodies 33 are provided between the two female contact bodies 34. The male contact bodies 33 are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction on the inner wall surface 21c when the elastic member 30 is placed in the accommodation space HS. The elastic member 30 is made of a conductive metal so as to have elasticity.

[0022] In the accommodation space HS, the elastic member 30 is supported by the inner wall surface 21c. The male contact body 33 has a first contact portion 30a that contacts the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11. The female contact body 34 has a plurality of second contact portions 30b that contact the inner wall surface 21c. The second contact portions 30b are provided in the form of protrusions on the surface of the female contact body 34 that faces the inner wall surface 21c. The male contact body 33 is curved so that the first contact portions 30a protrude toward the central axis of the accommodation space HS.

[0023] The female connector 21 and the elastic member 30 have a first locking structure LS1 and a second locking structure LS2. The first locking structure LS1 regulates relative positional deviation of the elastic member 30 in the insertion direction with respect to the female connector 21. The second locking structure LS2 regulates relative positional deviation of the elastic member 30 in the removal direction with respect to the female connector 21.

[0024] The first locking structure LS1 includes a first locked portion 31 provided on the elastic member 30 and a first locking portion 21d provided on the female connector 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the first locked portion 31 is formed so as to protrude from the elastic member 30 toward the inner wall surface 21c of the female connector 21 when the elastic member 30 is accommodated in the accommodation space HS. The first locking portion 21d is a portion formed in a notch shape at the end of the female connector 21 on the first opening 21a side. When the elastic member 30 is accommodated in the accommodation space HS, the first locked portion 31 is inserted into the first locking portion 21d. As shown in FIG. 3, the first locking portion 21d has a wall surface 21e perpendicular to the insertion direction of the male connector 11 and a wall surface 21f perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the female connector 21. The first locking portion 21d regulates, by means of wall surface 21e, relative positional deviation of the elastic member 30 with respect to the female connector 21 in the insertion direction, and regulates, by means of wall surface 21f, relative positional deviation of the elastic member 30 with respect to the female connector 21 in the circumferential direction.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1, the second locking structure LS2 includes a second locked portion 32 provided on the elastic member 30 and a second locking portion 21g provided on the female connector 21. The second locked portion 32 is formed on an end of the elastic member 30 arranged on the second opening 21b side. The second locked portion 32 has a shaft portion 32a extending along the insertion direction and a pair of pieces 32b, 32c. The pair of pieces 32b, 32c are provided in an arc shape along the circumferential direction of the female connector 21 at the end of the shaft portion 32a on the extension direction side. The second locking portion 21g is a portion that protrudes from the end of the female connector 21 on the second opening 21b side so as to face each of the pieces 32b, 32c. The second locking portion 21g abuts against each of the pieces 32b, 32c, thereby restricting the relative positional deviation of the elastic member 30 with respect to the female connector 21 in the removal direction.

[0026] The outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 has a recess 13. The recess 13 is a portion that suppresses mechanical interference of the entrance side protrusion 25 with the male connector 11 when the male connector 11 is inserted into the female connector 21. The recess 13 is formed in a portion that faces the entrance side protrusion 25 when the male connector 11 is inserted into the female connector 21. The entrance side protrusion 25 passes through the recess 13 when the male connector 11 is inserted into the accommodation space HS.

[0027] The recess 13 is disposed in an intermediate portion 11c between the front end portion 11a and the rear end portion 11b of the male connector 11. The front end portion 11a is a portion that contacts the rear projection portion 24 of the male connector 11 inserted to the mating completion position as shown in FIG. 6C. The front end portion 11a includes a tip portion 14, and in the male connector 11 inserted to the mating completion position, the front end portion 11a contacts the rear projection portion 24 at a portion closer to the entrance side in the insertion direction than the tip portion 14. The rear end portion 11b is a portion that contacts the entrance side projection portion 25 of the male connector 11 inserted to the mating completion position as shown in FIG. 6C.

[0028] The recess 13 is preferably formed in a groove shape along the insertion direction. The recess 13 is formed corresponding to the inlet side protrusion 25, and two recesses 13 are formed in the middle portion 11c of the male connector 11. The two recesses 13 are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the male connector 11. The width of the recess 13 is formed to be wide enough that the inlet side protrusion 25 can enter into the recess 13.

[0029] The recess 13 has a first inclined surface 13a, a second inclined surface 13b, and a bottom surface 13c. The bottom surface 13c is disposed between the first inclined surface 13a and the second inclined surface 13b. The first inclined surface 13a is disposed on the front end portion 11a side with respect to the bottom surface 13c. The second inclined surface 13b is formed on the rear end portion 11b side with respect to the bottom surface 13c. The first inclined surface 13a extends along the insertion / removal direction and is inclined from the end of the bottom surface 13c on the front end portion 11a side to the outer wall surface 11d of the front end portion 11a. The second inclined surface 13b extends along the insertion / removal direction and is inclined from the end of the bottom surface 13c on the rear end portion 11b side to the outer wall surface 11d of the rear end portion 11b.

[0030] The surface of the recess 13 is provided with a lubricating layer 50. The lubricating layer 50 is sp 2 Carbon atoms forming bonds through hybrid orbitals (hereafter, sp 2 That is, the lubricating layer 50 provided on the surface of the recess 13 contains sp 2 From the viewpoint of sliding properties, the lubricating layer 50 contains sp 2 The carbon-containing substance preferably contains at least one selected from the group consisting of graphene, graphite, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, amorphous carbon, carbon black, and fullerene. Since the lubricating layer 50 is interposed between the sliding part on the male connector 11 side and the sliding part on the female connector 21 side, it is possible to reduce the friction caused by adhesion while suppressing the wear of the sliding part (entrance side protrusion 25) of the female connector 21, and to reduce the insertion force of the male connector 11.

[0031] The method for forming the lubricating layer 50 is not particularly limited. For example, 2 The lubricating layer 50 may be formed by dissolving or dispersing a carbon-containing substance in a solvent, applying or dropping the solution, and then evaporating the solvent. The lubricating layer 50 may also be formed by electrophoretic deposition.

[0032] The thickness of the lubricating layer 50 is preferably 5 μm or less. By setting the thickness of the lubricating layer 50 in this range, the insertion force of the male connector 11 can be effectively reduced.

[0033] FIG. 8 shows the results of evaluating the frictional force of a test sample with a lubricating layer 50. A solid lubricant, graphene oxide, was dispersed in a solvent and electrophoretically deposited on a copper alloy substrate, after which the solvent was evaporated and the deposited graphene oxide was thermally reduced to form a lubricating layer 50. On the other hand, as a comparative example, a test sample was prepared in which the lubricating layer 50 was not formed on the copper alloy substrate. The frictional force was evaluated using a friction tester (manufactured by Bruker, UMT-TriboLab), and a contact (copper alloy) having a hemispherical convex portion with a radius of 1 mm as a contact portion was brought into contact with the test sample under a load of 2 N, and the frictional force (N) was measured. As a result, the test sample without the lubricating layer 50 (right side of FIG. 8) had a frictional force of about 1.5 N, whereas the sample with the lubricating layer 50 coated with a solid lubricant (left side of FIG. 8) had a frictional force of about 0.4 N. By providing the lubricating layer 50, the frictional force could be significantly reduced.

[0034] It is preferable that the male connector 11 further comprises a nickel plating layer 40 disposed between the recess 13 and the lubricating layer 50. By providing the nickel plating layer 40 to the male connector 11, when the male connector 11 is inserted into the female connector 21, the inlet side protrusion 25 comes into contact with the lubricating layer 50 and slides, generating wear powder of the lubricating layer 50, which is selectively adsorbed onto the surface of the nickel plating layer 40. Therefore, the insertion force of the male connector 11 into the female connector 21 can be reduced while ensuring the quality of the metal-to-metal contact between the contact portion of the male connector 11 and the contact portion of the female connector 21.

[0035] The method for forming the nickel plating layer 40 is not particularly limited, but for example, the recess 13, which is the portion to be plated of the male connector 11, can be placed in a plating bath and plated by a known plating method.

[0036] The thickness of the nickel plating layer 40 is preferably 5 μm or less. By setting the thickness of the nickel plating layer 40 in this range, wear particles of the lubricating layer 50 can be effectively adsorbed.

[0037] A lubricating layer 50 is provided on the surface of the recess 13. It is preferable that a nickel plating layer 40 is disposed between the recess 13 and the lubricating layer 50. That is, the lubricating layer 50 is formed on a surface of the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 that is recessed with respect to the surface surrounding the recess 13, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6A. The recess amount of the lubricating layer 50 with respect to the surface surrounding the recess 13 corresponds to the protruding height of the inlet side protrusion 25 from the inner wall surface 21c. The recess amount of the lubricating layer 50 is approximately the same as the protruding height of the inlet side protrusion 25 from the inner wall surface 21c.

[0038] The process of inserting the male connector 11 into the receiving space HS will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 6A, the male connector 11 is inserted into the accommodation space HS from the first opening 21a (entrance side) of the female connector 21 along the axial direction of the female connector 21. As shown in FIG. 6B, the front end 11a of the male connector 11 passes over the entrance side protrusion 25 and enters the accommodation space HS. The recess 13 is formed in a range including a position facing the entrance side protrusion 25 when the first contact portion 30a starts to contact the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 inserted into the accommodation space HS. After passing over the front end 11a, the entrance side protrusion 25 is guided into the recess 13 along the first inclined surface 13a of the recess 13. When the entrance side protrusion 25 is located in the recess 13, the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 starts to contact the first contact portion 30a.

[0040] As the male connector 11 advances in the receiving space HS along the insertion direction, the entrance protrusion 25 moves relative to the male connector 11 along the first inclined surface 13a, the lubricating layer 50, and the second inclined surface 13b in the recess 13. This relative movement causes the entrance protrusion 25 to pass through the recess 13. As shown in FIG. 6C, the recess 13 is formed on the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 in the mating completion position, on the back side in the insertion direction (front end 11a side) of the position facing the entrance protrusion 25. The recess 13 is also formed along the insertion direction in a range toward the entrance side in the insertion direction (terminal connector 12 side) of the position facing the back protrusion 24 on the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 in the mating completion position.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 6B, when the inlet side projection 25 is in contact with the lubricating layer 50, the inlet side projection 25 and the lubricating layer 50 slide against each other. 2 Since the shear strength of the lubricating layer 50 containing carbon is smaller than the shear strength of the metal applied to the surface of the inlet side protrusion 25, the lubricating layer 50 shears preferentially, reducing wear of the inlet side protrusion 25 and decreasing the friction force.

[0042] When a nickel plating layer 40 is provided between the recess 13 and the lubricating layer 50, wear powder of the lubricating layer 50 generated by this sliding is selectively adsorbed by the nickel, and therefore does not deteriorate the electrical connection state after insertion.

[0043] From the state of FIG. 6B, the male connector 11 rides up onto the rear protrusion 24, and then the male connector 11 advances further along the insertion direction in the accommodation space HS, causing the entrance protrusion 25 to pass through the recess 13.

[0044] The male connector 11 advances further in the receiving space HS along the insertion direction, and as shown in FIG. 6C, the rear end 11b rides on the entrance protrusion 25. In this way, the male connector 11 is inserted into the receiving space HS to the mating completion position. At the mating completion position, the front end 11a of the male connector 11 contacts the back protrusion 24, and the rear end 11b of the male connector 11 contacts the entrance protrusion 25. The male connector 11 is pressed toward the back protrusion 24 and the entrance protrusion 25 by the first contact portion 30a of the elastic member 30. The back protrusion 24 and the entrance protrusion 25 support the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 against the pressing force of the elastic member 30. As shown in FIG. 6C, this configuration allows the male connector 11 to be held in the receiving space HS at the mating completion position.

[0045] In the embodiment, the recess 13 is formed in the middle portion 11c, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the recess 13 may be formed on the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 in the mating completion position, on the farther side in the insertion direction than the position facing the inlet side protrusion 25, along the insertion direction. Therefore, the recess 13 may be formed along the insertion direction from the middle portion 11c to the front end of the front end portion 11a.

[0046] In this case, for example, the protruding height of the rear side protrusion 24 may be set higher than the protruding height of the entrance side protrusion 25 so that the rear side protrusion 24, together with the entrance side protrusion 25 and the elastic member 30, can hold the male connector 11 at the mating completion position. For example, the rear side protrusion 24 comes into contact with the portion of the front end 11a where the recess 13 is formed, and together with the entrance side protrusion 25 and the elastic member 30, holds the male connector 11 at the mating completion position.

[0047] In addition, when the recess 13 is formed from the middle portion 11c to the front end of the front end portion 11a along the insertion direction, the entrance side protrusion 25 and the back side protrusion 24 may be arranged so as not to overlap in the insertion / removal direction when the female connector 21 is viewed from the first opening 21a side. With this arrangement, when the male connector 11 is inserted into the accommodation space HS, the back side protrusion 24 does not fall into the recess 13, and the male connector 11 can be held in the mating completion position together with the entrance side protrusion 25 and the elastic member 30. For example, when the female connector 21 is viewed from the first opening 21a side, the two entrance side protrusions 25 arranged at a distance from each other in the circumferential direction of the inner wall surface 21c may be arranged between the two back side protrusions 24 arranged at a distance from each other in the circumferential direction of the inner wall surface 21c.

[0048] The recess 13 may be formed as a notched recess by cutting the male connector 11 along the width direction (radial direction). In this case, when the male connector 11 is inserted into the accommodation space HS, the two inlet side protrusions 25 pass through one recess 13.

[0049] In the embodiment, the accommodation space HS of the female connector 21 has been described as a cylindrical space, but is not limited thereto. For example, the accommodation space HS may be a triangular prism-shaped or rectangular prism-shaped space. In addition, in the above-mentioned male connector 11, the male connector 11 has been described as a cylindrical member, but is not limited thereto. The male connector 11 may have any shape as long as it can be inserted into the accommodation space HS and can be fitted with the female connector 21, and for example, the male connector 11 may be a triangular prism-shaped or rectangular prism-shaped member.

[0050] In the above-mentioned male connector 11, the nickel plating layer 40 is disposed between the recess 13 and the lubricating layer 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. The nickel plating layer 40 may be applied to the entire surface of the outer wall surface 11d (the cylindrical member 10b) of the male connector 11.

[0051] In addition, it is preferable that a precious metal plating layer 60 is formed on the surface of the nickel plating layer 40 in a portion where the lubricating layer 50 is not formed. Specifically, the precious metal plating layer 60 is preferably an alloy containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, ruthenium, palladium, and platinum. By providing the precious metal plating layer 60, it is possible to increase the electrical conductivity and make it less susceptible to corrosion. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, after the nickel plating layer 40 is applied to the entire surface of the cylindrical member 10b of the male connector 11, the lubricating layer 50 is formed on the surface (the surface side of the bottom surface 13c) recessed from the surrounding surface of the recess 13. Furthermore, the surface side of the first inclined surface 13a and the second inclined surface 13b of the recess 13 can be provided with a precious metal plating layer 60.

[0052] In the above-mentioned male connector 11, the lubricating layer 50 is disposed on the entire surface of the nickel plating layer 40, but this is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the lubricating layer 50 does not have to cover the entire surface of the nickel plating layer 40, and the lubricating layer 50 may cover a part of the surface of the nickel plating layer 40. The lubricating layer 50 may also cover the area other than the surface of the nickel plating layer 40.

[0053] In addition, when the conductive member of the male connector 11 contains nickel, it is not necessary to form the nickel plating layer 40. By forming the lubricating layer 50 on the conductive member containing nickel, the same effect as when the nickel plating layer 40 is provided can be obtained as described above.

[0054] As described above, the terminal connection structure 1 includes a cylindrical female connector 21 having a housing space HS extending along the axial direction, and a male connector 11 that is inserted along the axial direction into the housing space HS to a fitting completion position and electrically connected to the female connector 21. The female connector 21 has an inner wall surface 21c that surrounds the housing space HS, and an elastic member 30 that is supported by the inner wall surface 21c, has a contact portion 30a that contacts an outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11, and presses the male connector 11 with the contact portion 30a. The female connector 21 also has a back-side protrusion 24 that protrudes from a position on the inner wall surface 21c that is further back in the insertion direction than the contact portion 30a, and an entrance-side protrusion 25 that protrudes from a position on the inner wall surface 21c that is further toward the entrance in the insertion direction than the contact portion 30a. The rear projection 24 and the entrance projection 25 support the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 in the mating completion position against the pressing force of the elastic member 30. The outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 has a recess 13 formed in a portion that faces the entrance projection 25 when the male connector 11 is inserted into the accommodation space HS. The recess 13 is formed along the insertion direction, on the outer wall surface 11d of the male connector 11 in the mating completion position, further to the rear in the insertion direction than the position that faces the entrance projection 25. The surface of the recess 13 has sp 2 The terminal connection structure 1 according to the embodiment has a lubricating layer 50 containing carbon atoms that form bonds through hybrid orbitals. Therefore, the terminal connection structure 1 according to the embodiment can ensure a holding force for holding the male connector, while keeping the insertion force required to insert the male connector into the accommodation space of the female connector low.

[0055] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1 Terminal connection structure 11 Male connector 11d Exterior wall surface 13 Recess 21 Female connector 21c Inner wall 24 Back protrusion 25 Entrance side protrusion 30 Elastic member 30a First contact part (contact part) 40 Nickel plating layer 50 Lubricating layer 60 Precious metal plating layer HS Storage Space

Claims

1. a tubular female connector having an axially extending receiving space; a male connector that is inserted into the accommodating space along the axial direction to a mating completion position and is electrically connected to the female connector; Equipped with The female connector is An inner wall surface surrounding the storage space; an elastic member supported by the inner wall surface, having a contact portion that contacts the outer wall surface of the male connector, and pressing the male connector with the contact portion; a rear protrusion protruding from a position on the inner wall surface that is rearward in the insertion direction from the contact portion; an inlet-side protrusion protruding from a position on the inner wall surface closer to the inlet in the insertion direction than the contact portion; the rear-side protrusion and the inlet-side protrusion support the outer wall surface of the male connector in the mating completion position against the pressing force of the elastic member, the outer wall surface of the male connector has a recess formed in a portion that faces the inlet-side protrusion when the male connector is inserted into the accommodation space, the recess is formed along the insertion direction on the outer wall surface of the male connector in the mating completion position, further toward the rear in the insertion direction than a position facing the inlet-side protrusion, The surface of the recess is provided with sp ２ A terminal connection structure comprising a lubricating layer containing carbon atoms forming hybrid orbital bonds.

2. The terminal connection structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a nickel plating layer disposed between the recess and the lubricating layer.

3. 3. The terminal connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the lubricating layer contains at least one selected from the group consisting of graphene, graphite, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, amorphous carbon, carbon black, and fullerene.

4. The terminal connection structure according to claim 2 , further comprising a noble metal plating layer on a surface of the nickel plating layer.

5. The terminal connection structure according to claim 1 , wherein the recess is formed in a groove shape along the insertion direction.

6. 3. The terminal connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the range in which the recess is formed on the outer wall surface of the male connector includes a position opposite the inlet side protrusion when the contact portion begins to contact the outer wall surface of the male connector inserted into the accommodating space.

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